Phoenix Hail Damage, Oct. 20-21: What To Do

If your car sat outside in the Valley on October 20 or 21, 2026, look it over. The first storm dropped hail on Mesa and Chandler that night, and the second hit north Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria the next afternoon, with stones up to 2 inches reported (NOAA Storm Prediction Center, preliminary reports, retrieved October 22, 2026). This week, get every panel on camera in low light, give your insurer the storm date for where the car was parked, and keep it unrepaired until the adjuster has been out. Below is how to do each one well, and where we fit in.

There is no Dent Barn shop in Arizona. Here is the honest version.

Our shop is at 426 Miami St in Leavenworth, Kansas. That is more than a thousand miles from Phoenix, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.

What a call gets you. Call the number on this page and tell us where the car sits in the Valley and what the storm did to it. Whether someone can look at the car in person depends on who we have in the area, so we confirm a day and time with you before anyone drives. If we cannot get someone to you, we say so on the phone.

Where the repair happens is settled on that call. Before you commit to anything, you will know who would do the work and where. Nothing is charged for the call or the look, and you are not signed up for a repair by asking.

That is less than a shop down the street can promise, and we would rather you hear it here than find it out halfway through a claim.

Document the car yourself before anyone writes the first number

Whoever writes the first estimate on your car sets the number everything else gets argued from. If that estimate misses a panel, adding it later means a supplement, which is extra paperwork and extra waiting. What a supplement on a hail claim is covers how that works. Your protection is a record you made yourself, before anyone else looked.

It takes about twenty minutes, and the light matters more than the camera.

Wait for low light. Hail dents disappear in flat midday sun and show up clearly in early morning or late afternoon light. A cloudy day is fine. The light needs to skim across the panel at a low angle, not hit it straight on.

Shoot along the panel, not at it. Crouch at the edge of the hood and aim down its length. Do the same for the roof from the windshield and the rear glass, and along each side from the front and rear corners. A dent you cannot see from straight in front shows as a dark ring or a ripple in the reflection from the side.

Go panel by panel, in the same order every time:

• Hood
• Roof
• Trunk lid or tailgate
• Driver side: front fender, both doors, rear quarter panel
• Passenger side: the same four
• Pillars and roof rails, which are the easiest to miss
• Mirror caps, trim and any plastic or lights that cracked

Count per panel. Pick a section, count the dents you can see, and write the number down with the panel's name. You do not need to be exact. A rough count per panel is what turns "there are some dents" into a record an adjuster has to answer.

Record the date and place. Write down where the car was parked and which storm hit it. In the East Valley that was the night of October 20. In north Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria it was the afternoon of October 21. If the car moved between the two, note both.

Take a slow walk-around video too. One continuous pass around the car in the same low light. It shows the whole car in one file, which photos taken one panel at a time do not.

Check covered cars as well. If the car sat under a carport or on the top deck of a garage, look it over anyway. Wind can drive hail in at an angle, so look hardest at the hood, the rear glass and whichever side faced the open edge.

Let the adjuster see it first

Arizona's insurance regulator puts it plainly in its storm guide: tell your insurer quickly and wait for the adjuster's visit before any repair (Arizona DIFI, Disaster Recovery Resources, retrieved October 22, 2026).

That holds even if you already know where you want the car fixed. Your photos back up what the adjuster sees; they do not replace the visit.

What to ask before anyone touches the car

Once the adjuster has seen it, every estimate you get should answer the same questions. How a hail damage estimate is written goes through the line items. The short version:

• Which panels get paintless repair, and which go to body work? A paintless tech pushes the metal back out from underneath with long rods, so the original paint never gets sanded or sprayed. Once a stone chips or cracks the paint, that panel needs sanding, filler and refinish instead.
• Is the dent count per panel written down? Compare it to your own count. If a panel you photographed is missing, ask why before you sign.
• Where is the work done, and by whom? You should know the address of the place doing the repair.
• How long will they have the car? Ask for a day count in writing. A rental comes from its own coverage line, with limits, which a rental car during hail repair walks through.
• What happens if more damage turns up? Hidden dents under trim or along roof rails are common. Ask how a supplement gets handled before it happens, not after.

Call first, then decide

Write down where the car was parked and which storm hit it while you still remember, and save the photos for the next good light. Whenever you are ready, call the number on this page and tell us where the car is. You will get a plain answer on whether we can help in the Phoenix metro, and how, before you commit to anything.